1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a container containing hot drink, hot food or the like, and more particularly, to a heat insulating container through which heat from the hot contents is not easily conducted to the hand of a person who has the container even if it is composed of a material having a small wall thickness, for example, a paper cup, and a container holding member for holding the container containing hot drink, hot food or the like so that the heat is not easily conducted to the hand.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As a container containing hot drink, hot food or the like, various types of containers have been used. In a vending machine or a vehicle such as a railroad, a cup made of paper or foaming resin which is formed in the shape of an inverted circular truncated cone has been generally used as such a container in that it is low in manufacturing cost and can be stored without being bulky.
Such a cup made of paper or foaming resin does not have sufficient heat insulation properties. If hot drink or the like is contained in the cup, the cup gets hot. Particularly in the case of the cup made of paper frequently utilized, the cup immediately gets hot, thereby to make it difficult for a person to have the cup in his or her hand.
Therefore, such development has been conventionally achieved as to reduce conduction of heat from hot drink or the like contained in the cup through the cup to the hand of a person who has the cup. A container 1 in which a pair of handle portions 2 made of a paperboard which is subjected to punching processing in a butterfly shape is mounted on an outer surface of a body portion 1a and which is so adapted as to be held by a person with the pair of right and left handle portions 2 in his or her hand after the handle portions 2 are bent and raised in the positions of lines for bending 2a, as shown in FIG. 14, is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Gazette No. 24714/1985. In addition, a container 3 in which a body portion 4 has a double structure comprising an inner body portion 4a and an outer body portion 4b, and an air layer 4c is provided therebetween, as shown in FIG. 16, is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Gazette No. 52003/1975.
In the case of the container 1 shown in FIG. 14, the handle portions 2 are brought into close contact with the body portion 1a in the container 1 until they are raised as described above. Subsequent containers can be successively stacked in the container 1 in such a manner that one of the containers is put in the other container, so that they can be stored without being bulky, similarly to the conventional paper cups.
In this container 1, however, the handle portions 2 must be raised from the body portion 1a with the fingers of the person as described above before hot drink is contained, whose operation is laborious. If hot drink or the like is contained in the container 1 without performing the operation, the body portion 1a and the handle portions 2 in the container 1 get hot, thereby to make it difficult to raise the handle portions 2. Further, if the person lets go of the handle portions 2 after raising the handle portions 2 from the body portion 1a, the handle portions 2 are independently returned by a restoring force of the paperboard used for the handle portions 2, as shown in FIG. 15. Therefore, every time the container 1 is held, the handle portions 2 must be raised, which is very laborious. Further, if hot drink or the like is contained in the container 1, a large force is exerted on portions on which the handle portions 2 are mounted, whereby the handle portions 2 may come off the container 1. Therefore, the handle portions 2 must be firmly mounted on the container 1, whereby it is difficult to manufacture the container 1, resulting in high cost. In addition, a large force is exerted on the fingers holding the handle portions 2, whereby the fingers may, in some cases, hurt. Further, the container 1 is inclined if a force holding the handle portions 2 is even slightly weakened, and the held container 1 swings even by slight rolling. Therefore, hot drink or the like contained in the container 1 spills, whereby the clothes of the person become dirty and the person gets burned on the hand.
On the other hand, although in the case of the container 3 shown in FIG. 16, the air layer 4c with predetermined spacing L is provided between the inner body portion 4a and the outer body portion 4b, the air layer 4c is in a sealed state. Accordingly, heat conducted to the air layer 4c is not radiated but conducted to the outer body portion 4b, whereby the outer body portion 4b gradually gets hot, thereby to make it impossible to obtain a sufficient heat insulation effect. Since the body portion 4 has a double structure in the container 3, the manufacture thereof is laborious, and a lot of materials are required. In addition, the volume of the container 3 required for containing drink or the like is smaller than that of a container such as the conventional cup. Accordingly, the container 3 must be made large so as to contain a predetermined amount of drink, resulting in significantly high manufacturing cost. Further, subsequent containers cannot be successively stacked in the container 3 in such a manner that one of the containers is put in the other container, so that they are bulky when they are stored and transported, resulting in high cost for storage and transportation, unlike the conventional paper cups. Therefore, the container 3 is not suitable as containers used in a vending machine or a vehicle such as a railroad.